Lab-Grown Meat, Three Ways
Swarnava | Longshot@swarnava
The idea
I believe lab-grown meat becomes a real category over the next five to ten years, even though the companies actually growing the meat are still private. So I own this indirectly: roughly half the portfolio is in the tools and bioreactor makers that sell to cell-growing labs and drug makers alike, meaning they keep earning while the category works through bans and costs. A smaller slice owns big food companies that have taken stakes in lab-grown startups, and the smallest slice owns plant-based food brands and the steadier ingredient suppliers behind them.
What will be bought
- These companies sell the bioreactors, growth liquids and lab tools that every lab-grown meat maker needs, and drug companies keep buying the same products today. · Thermo Fisher ScientificIt supplies the growth liquids and lab equipment that cell-meat companies must purchase, and drug makers already buy these same products at scale, creating a dual revenue stream., Danaher CorporationIt owns Cytiva, which makes the bioreactors and supplies used to grow cells at scale, so it gets paid whether the cells become medicine or meat., Repligen CorporationIt makes the filters and tools that clean up and separate what comes out of a bioreactor, a step lab-grown meat needs as it scales., Bio-Techne CorporationIt sells growth factors, the proteins that tell cells to multiply, and they are one of the biggest costs in growing meat from cells., Avantor, Inc.It supplies the everyday lab materials and chemicals that cell-growing operations burn through, offering a cheaper way to own the tools behind the industry., Corning IncorporatedIt makes the flasks and vessels cells are grown in as part of its life sciences business, though most of its revenue comes from glass and fiber for other markets., Ginkgo Bioworks HoldingsIt designs and engineers cells for other companies, the kind of work lab-grown meat startups need to make cells grow faster and cheaper.49%
- The largest meat and food companies own pieces of lab-grown startups, so they gain if it scales and still earn from regular meat if it doesn't. · Tyson Foods, Inc.It owns a stake in Upside Foods, one of the companies actually growing meat from cells, so it gains if that bet scales while still earning from conventional meat., JBS N.V.It controls BioTech Foods and opened a food biotech research center to grow meat from cells, putting real money behind scaling that technology., Archer-Daniels-Midland CompanyIt co-led funding for the startup that became Believer Meats and already sells the ingredients that alternative proteins are made from.28%
- Meat alternative brands face headwinds, so this take balances exposure with steadier plant protein suppliers that serve broader markets. · Ingredion IncorporatedIt makes plant proteins and starches that go into meat and dairy substitutes, so it earns from the category without betting on any single brand., Bunge Global SAIt processes soy and other crops into the plant proteins and oils that alternative meat brands use, staying steadier than the consumer-facing companies., Oatly Group ABIt sells oat milk and other plant-based dairy, offering a direct read on whether shoppers will keep paying for alternatives to animal products., Beyond Meat, Inc.It is the best-known plant-based meat brand, held here at a small position to track whether the company keeps operating and maintains shelf space.14%
- Cash9%